The coach of Vojvodina FC Božidar Bandović said that he was expecting an even better performance of his team in the new season of 2024/25.

The players of the Old Lady start the competition in Mozzart Bet Superleague on Sunday, in Bačka Palanka, where they are playing against Tekstilac FC, a new member of the Superleague.

Firstly, Božidar Bandović thanked all the players who left the club during this summer transfer period, as well as those who arrived to the club.

  • I would like to thank the players who left our club. Thank you for your help on the pitch and outside the pitch, and for the last year’s success. We brought players who I believe will help us with their character and quality, which is what they showed in the past few weeks. Our goal is for the players to adapt to the intensity, so now we enhanced our physical strength, and our game style remains intact. I believe that we need to play better, because we are Vojvodina. In the upcoming period we need to be even better when compared to the previous season. We managed to retain the atmosphere, which is really important. I can say that we are ready for all the challenges. I take all the responsibility in advance for future mistakes of the players, because I want them to try, to risk, and they know where and when they can do that. We need patience, because that is the only way aside from the discipline that we can reach the goal. We are playing against a new member of the SuperLeague, we analyzed them, and they analyzed us. We prepared our tactics, we will attack again, and try to play our game – Bandović began.

 

He highlighted that is it very important that there were no bigger injuries during the preparations, and that everyone is ready at the start of the new season.

  • We had no injuries, aside from Bukinac, who suffered a mechanical injury. We have a good pool of players, and that is important for advancement. Thus, I would like to thank the president and the sports director, because I wanted to have 2 players at every position, and I insisted on this last signature. Vojvodina must have two players at each position, and I would like to thank the club for understanding my intentions – Bandović said.

 

He also stated that the new players need to pass through a period of adaptation in order to adjust to the team, and the game style, as well as the high intensity.

  • All those who arrived need to have some time. They need to adapt, because our trainings have a high intensity. Veličković is a good example, he adapted well, but everybody needs time. And it’s not just the intensity, it is the communication, cooperation with the teammates and understanding of our game style. I believe that they all have quality, and that is why they will adapt quickly. I am counting on everyone, but it is possible that some will start on the bench. However, the season is long, we will need every player and everyone will have their role and minutes.

He said that he was pleased that his team returned and won during the games at preparations.

  • That is a positive thing. We tried different players, but everyone showed character. That is proof that there is discipline, persistence and character. We need to be conscious at every moment, regardless of the result, because only the final result matters. We will advance as the season progresses, because we raise the intensity during the season, and we won those last few matches precisely because we were physically ready, and that was not a coincidence. I am proud that my team doesn’t give up, and that they fight until the last moment – Bandović said.

Finally, Bandović reflected on the historical placement of Tekstilac to SuperLeague.

  • I congratulate the team of Tekstilac on their historical placement. These first games can be tricky, because we haven’t played competitive matches for a long time. Tekstilac is a quality team, and likes to play pressing in the formation 4-4-2, but we are ready for everything. The players need to know how to read the changes during the match, and adapt to them. With all due respect, it depends on us, we are the ones who want to create chances, possess the ball, and play well in the defence – Bandović concluded.

 

The match between Tekstilac and Vojvodina is scheduled for Sunday, at 7:30pm, with a live broadcast on Arena Premium 3.